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How does Esther transform instantly from meek to commanding, decreeing a fast even on Pesach (פסח)? The answer lies in understanding chutzpah: assertiveness is forbidden on a personal level but essential when serving as God's agent. The Kohen Gadol's garments—especially the tzitz atoning for insolence and the me'il like a coat of mail—teach that strength, pride, and boldness have their place in our public role as God's servants, not in private life.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a perplexing question from Megillas Esther: how does Esther undergo a radical personality transformation in mere moments? Initially she is meek and reactive, afraid to approach the king uninvited. But once Mordechai presses her—warning that salvation will come from elsewhere if she remains silent, and that perhaps her entire queenship was for this moment—Esther becomes intensely assertive. She not only agrees to risk her life but issues a decree to all the Jews: fast for three days, no eating or drinking, effectively canceling Pesach (פסח) that year (the fast would fall on the night of the Seder). How can a person switch so dramatically from docility to dominance? The shiur then turns to Parshas Tetzaveh to develop a framework for understanding this shift. The me'il (robe) of the Kohen Gadol is described by the Torah (תורה) as having a doubled-over collar (k'fi sachar), which Rashi (רש"י) compares to a coat of mail—a piece of armor. This portrayal of the Kohen Gadol as a warrior seems incongruous with the service in the Beis Hamikdash. Additionally, Chazal teach that each priestly garment atones for a specific sin: the tzitz (headband inscribed with "Kodesh laShem") atones for azus metzach (insolence or chutzpah), and the me'il atones for lashon hara (through the principle that something that makes noise—the bells on the hem—atones for the "noise" of evil speech). But a contradiction arises: in last week's parsha (Terumah), Rashi explains that the copper mizbeach atones for insolence (since the word nechoshes/copper is related to nechusha/chutzpah). So which is it—does the tzitz atone for chutzpah, or does the mizbeach?
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Parshas Tetzaveh (Kohen Gadol's garments), Megillas Esther
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